Nightsky
by ChelsM3-ZKFTW
Summary: this is something that's been playing out in my head for a few days now. i'm in between stories right now. i'm not sure if this will turn into anything, but i'd like to know what you think. so please tell me.
1. Chapter 1

'Somehow, I'll show you that you are my nightsky.' The thought simultaneously free flowed through the heads of Garfield Logan and Rachel Roth. It was a thought they had shared for several months now. The thought hadn't started out as a thought. The thought had begun as a song they had both heard at a school dance months ago. The thought was now busting at their skulls wanting to be free, to express itself to the person it was meant for. The thoughts were meant for each other.

Though they both knew their thought could never make it to the other simply because of their fear. Rachel didn't believe that Garfield could like her back. Garfield didn't think Rachel even knew he was alive. But little did they know that I had plans for them that would rock their worlds.

Tt Tt Tt

At Jump City High, I'm the kid who's always in the know. My knowledge extends all over campus. I know who's dating who. What to wear for the season and what not to wear. I know what's hot and what's not. I'm the kid everyone goes to when they need answers. I guess you could say I was their ruler. It felt good to be on top.

Lunch rolled around and I stood at the doorway of the cafeteria, looking over my kingdom and my people. There were two people I was especially searching for. I was friends with both of them and knew I was the only one who could join these two. Ah-ha, there they are. Walking to their usual tables, sneaking glances at one another.

I watched the blond boy sit at a lunch table with Richard Grayson, a black, spikey haired boy who was the richest guy in school, due to his adoptive parent, Bruce Wayne. He was making out with the red haired, green eyed Irish babe, Kory Anders. She was single handedly the hottest girl Jump City had ever seen. She had moved here from Ireland and was new to American things, which meant she really liked experimenting. Richard and Kory had been dating for over five months now, ever since a vacation to Tokyo, they'd been inseparable. It would seem that Garfield was the odd man out, well that would be true if it weren't for his hippie girlfriend, Terra. She had recently transferred to JCH about the time of the Valentine's Day Dance. She had seen Rachel's interest in him and made her move. She was a spiteful bitch, but Garfield had never seemed to notice it.

Tearing my eyes away from the quartet, I sought out the purple hair that belonged to the leader of the outcasts. Rachel. She was a Goth to the fullest. No question about it. At her table, sat boys and girls dressed in dark colors. The table seemed to have the scent of death around them for I noticed no one coming around the table. They were a dangerous group, but everyone deserved love right?

Of course they do. But just how am I supposed to get a Goth and a 'hero', as the quartet was called for their endless good deed actions, together. Completely opposite of each other, yet, completely perfect for each other. I was going to have to work hard on this one. I might even need help, but that would come later.

"Hey, Caesar, are you coming to sit with us today, or what?" I looked over my shoulder at the sound of my nickname to see a young freshman waving his arms.

I chuckled, "Nah, man, maybe next week. I have other things I need to take care of." He nodded his head and went back to his lunch.

As I walked down the aisles of tables, my fellow students delivered high fives and hellos, "What's up, Caesar?" "How you doing, Caesar?" "What new ideas have you come up with today, Caesar?" I answered them all as best as I could, trying to keep up with them. But it was hard sometimes. I walked to Garfield and sat down.

"Hey, guys, mind if I sit with you?" I asked politely.

They all shook their heads, "No way, of course you can, Caesar."

Terra was staring at me and I tried my hardest not to snap at her, "Can I help you, terra?"

She nodded, "Yeah, you can actually. I was just wondering why they call you Caesar."

I looked into her blue eyes hard, "Because Caesar was an excellent ruler. The students see me as their ruler. Plus it's the only gender neutral word that was found. Equality is precious beyond anything else."

She looked away quickly, "Oh, well, that's cool then." I smiled deviously, damn right woman, look away.

Turning my attention back to the issue at hand, I looked at Garfield, a plan developing in my head, "Hey, man, I have a problem. Could you help me out?"

He nodded eagerly, "Yeah, most definitely. What is is?"

I smiled; oh this was going to work out perfectly, "Well, do you know who Rachel Roth is?"

He looked down briefly, "The Goth?" he tried to put disgust in his voice, but it didn't work out for him.

"Yeah, that one. Well, you see, she's trying to start a revolt. I've tried to stop her, but she won't hear of it. And I thought, because of your devilish good looks you could talk to her and see what her deal is?" I hoped like hell this wasn't going to blow up in my face.

His voice rang with embarrassment, "Yeah, sure, Caesar. I'll talk to her after school."

"Cool. Thanks, man. Well, I gotta jet. Peace!" I stood up and made my way past Rachel's table.

I set my tray down beside her, "I gotta talk to you." She nodded. "Alone." I said pointedly to her crew.

"Fine." She looked to her Goths, "It's cool, guys, I'll see you all later." She always talked in a monotone pitch. It had something to do with no emotions or whatever, I never understood it. "What can I help you with, Caesar?"

I sat down, "Alright, so here's the thing. Do you know who Garfield Logan is?"

She blinked, "The hero?" her voice never changed tones.

"Yeah, that one. Well, you see, he's trying to take my 'throne' if you will. I've tried to talk some sense into him, but he won't listen. And I though, because of your collectiveness that you could talk to him and see what his deal is?" I really hope this thing would blow up in my face.

Still no emotion in her voice, but I could see it in her eyes, "Yes, I can do that, Caesar. I'll converse with him after school."

"Alright! Thanks, Rae."

"Don't call me that."

"Oh, sorry. Well I gotta go now. Bye and thanks for the help." I stood up and left the cafeteria as quickly as I could. There was no way in hell this WASN'T going to blow up in my face.


	2. Chapter 2

I walked the halls of JCH to my favorite class of the year: Technology Appreciation. Aw hell yeah. Not only was I really good at this type of thing but there was this one girl in my class who got my hard drive buzzing. Her name is Karen Beecher. She was a beautiful creature with dark chocolate skin, much like my own. Dark mahogany hair fell around her face. And don't even get me started on her eyes, possessed a deep brown hue that had me in a daze, even hours after I looked into them.

She was perfect. And as I walked into the classroom and saw her in tight fitting black jeans, three inch boots, a black form fitting sweater with three yellow stripes in the just the right places, I wanted to make her my queen bee.

Karen and I made eye contact as I sat next to her. She smiled sweetly and I nearly melted. Today, I planned on asking her out, but who knew if that would fall through or go smoothly. My life was not as perfect as everyone thought it to be.

"Hey, Caesar, how are you doing today?" her voice was calm. As though she weren't effected by me and although no one would believe it, it hurt a little.

"Please, call me Victor or even Vic. I'm doing very good, Karen. How 'bout yourself?" I hoped that by saying my real name aloud, she would see me. The real me.

"Alright, Victor… I'm doing real good." her voice was still unwavering, but her eyes said otherwise. I watched them dart around like little bees trapped in a jar.

"Awesome." was the only thing I could say to her. It was now or never. I could feel it. If I didn't say anything to her. She wouldn't stick around long, waiting for some schmuck like me. She needed someone would sweep her off her feet. And that someone is going to be me, "So, Karen, I was wondering, would you like to…go out with me this Friday night?" I could feel my voice quivering. Wow, real king like, Vic.

Karen turned her body toward me. Her eyes were wide and her mouth curved, "Victor Stone, the Caesar of Jump City High School is asking me, nobody Karen Beecher, out on a date?" now I could hear the waiver in her voice. Now I knew she was nervous. Now I knew that I had asked her at the right time.

"Uh, yeah, I guess, I am." I smiled shyly, knowing that would disarm the intimidation people saw in me. "So, how 'bout it? Care to go to a movie and a nice dinner?"

She didn't say anything for a few minutes, only stared at me with her mocha eyes and I felt my breath catch in my throat. Had I made a mistake? Did she really not feel the way I had thought she had. Dammit all to hell and back. My next words came sputtering from my mouth, "Oh, I, uh, well, I… um… j-just thought…" my sentence, if that's what it could be called was cut short as I jumped in my chair a little. My pocket seemed to have vibrated. Damn phone.

I pulled it out to see who the text was from. Garfield. Damn, if this wasn't so important I'd blow him off. But I had a job to do as ruler and match maker. "Excuse me, Karen, I have to check this. It's critical and will only take a few minutes. I promise." she rolled her big eyes at me and I knew I was going to have to work extra hard to get out of the dog house. I tore my eyes from her and looked at the screen. **From Garfield: **_Hey, dude, my class got cancelled. So I'm gonna check up on Roth the Goth. I'm pretty sure she has poli sci rite now. & that's taught by the teacher who bailed w/ mine. This little crisis should be over quickly. Peace out!_

I could feel my eyes widening in their sockets. This was not good. I had planned on being there when this whole thing went down. Clearly that was going to be a problem. Shit. What to do? What to do? I could ask to be excuse! I could make up some bullshit excuse and leave, right? That's perfect.

I leaned down to pick up my backpack when I saw those boots. Karen. I still haven't told her what I wanted to ask her. Alright, man, now or never. "I'm so sorry, Karen, but I really need that answer. I have something that is calling for my immediate attention. I-" again I was cut off my the vibration of my pants. I held up my finger and smiled, "One second, please." I looked down to the screen. Fuck my life.

**From Rachel: **_Hello, Caesar, my class seems to be cancelled. So, that little confrontation with the Hero will be happening sooner seeing as he is by my motorcycle waiting for me. Hope it ends quickly. Good bye._

"Fuck. My. Life."

"Excuse me?" Karen had once again turned to face me. Shit.

"Not you. It was…you know. Nothing. I'm real sorry. I just-just-just…uh… " I could not come up with a coherent sentence or excuse to save my life. Pathetic.

Karen placed one small finger over his lips, "I apologize if my actions are too forward, but you worry to much, Vic. Yes, I would love to go on a date with you this Friday. I'm sure you know where I live. And hell, if you don't I'm sure you can find out." she smiled coyly and turned back to face Mr. Brothood as entered the room.

I ran up to the front of the class, holding my stomach, "Mr. Brothood, I'm not feeling well, may I please leave?" I made sure to use all of the manners the teachers liked to hear. Especially with him, though he'd never admit it, I was pretty sure he hated me.

He looked down his nose at me with a look that just screamed of disgust. "Yes, Mr. Stone. That shall be quite alright."

I was a little discouraged by his attitude, but that didn't bring me down for too long. 'Cause all I could think was _Hell yeah, man, I got myself a date. Hellz fuckin' yeah._

Tt Tt Tt

He knelt by The Raven, Rachel's name for her bike, near the gas tank. He seemed to be pretending he knew what was what and what did what. His shaggy, blond hair fell to the side when he cocked his head. She knew he had no idea as to what was going on with her bike, so why was he there? More importantly, why did she want him to stay?

She leaned against a brick wall watching him. _You're not watching him, _she told herself, _you're assessing the situation. _She smiled darkly, yeah that's right. Assessing. She _assessed _the way his jeans stretched across his muscles thighs. She _assessed _the green V-neck T-shirt hugged his torso. It seemed a little tight fitting around the bicep area, but Rachel didn't mind.

_Alright_, _time to stop the assessing and get down to business. _She pushed herself away from the wall and began walking to him. Rachel zipped her black Jack Skellington sweatshirt up and lifted the hood. She watched it fall in front of her eyes, just barely giving her enough sight to see. Her mom had once told her that the eyes were the windows to the soul. And if that were the case, no one would be getting close to her soul.

"Hey, Richard! Have you seen Garfield?" she looked to her right and saw Caesar talking to the leader of the heroes.

"Man, I think he's down by Roth the Goth's bike." Rachel both loved and despised the nickname she was given. She was labeled. Fuck labels.

"Alright, cool. Thanks, dude. Hey, do you ever take those things off?" that was a good question. For as long as he had been there, Dick had never taken off his sunglasses. She wondered if he'd heard the same saying her mother told him. If that were true, that would only mean that when someone looked into his eyes trying to see his soul, all they would see is a mirror. Ingenious.

Rachel watched as the boys parted ways. She should probably get to Logan before Caesar did. She didn't want to look bad in front of him. She hurried her steps a little bit, thinking that it would be pointless, but as luck would have it. He was stopped by a passing student. Yes!

She reached the hero and clear her throat, "Is there a reason you're touching my bike?" he got startled and fell back a little. She snorted.

He jumped to his feet, "No. No, reason."

"Good. Can I help you with something?" she made sure to keep insecurity from her voice. Easier said than done. His emerald eyes always mesmerized her. They were a shade entirely their own. Beautiful in all aspects.

"Yeah, you can actually. I have a very reliable source that tells me you're trying to start a revolt against our Caesar. And I'm here to tell you that you can't do that." his voice hardened. Was he being serious about this?

Her eyes widened slightly, not like he'd be able to tell anyway. "That's ridiculous. I would never start a revolt. I'm completely compliant where I am. And even if I were, you couldn't stop me even I wanted to, hero. I wouldn't be your average cat stuck in a tree crisis. I'd be hardcore. You wouldn't be able to handle it or me." she raised an eyebrow and smiled smugly.

Garfield looked down at Rachel. He was at least three inches taller than her even with her combat boots on. He looked her up and down. Her skin was pale. It was enhanced by all the dark colors she wore. A black plaid mini skirt barely grazed mid thigh. A dark blue tank beneath an oversized sweatshirt with a skull on it graced her torso. She was demoness of the highest sort and Garfield wanted her more than he'd ever admit.

He couldn't see her eyes. She had them hidden beneath a hood. He'd only ever seen them once before, back at the dance. He remembered the color of them. He'd always remember the color. A deep blue so dark they had a purple tint to them. He wished she'd pull her hood away.

He saw her hair peeking out through her sweatshirt. It was an amethyst color that almost seemed like her natural hair color. Her smug smile only spurred on his attraction toward her. "Don't try to deny it, Roth."

"I can't deny what isn't true, _Logan_." He was both amazed and discouraged by the tone of her voice when she spat out his name. It was bland. "But you shouldn't be the one trying to stop me and whatever ridiculous scheme you made up. It should be vice versa. There's been an anonymous tipster that told me you were trying to take Caesar's place. What the hell's that about?" she placed a hand on her hip.

Garfield laughed, "Why would I want to have his place? Do you know how much responsibility he has? It is bad enough being known as a 'hero', but to have to take care of all the problems that happen in this school? Hah, I think not."

Rachel stayed quiet for several second and Garfield was beginning to think he'd done something to piss her off, "You know, you're right, hero. That doesn't make any sense." She set a hand on her face, thinking. "I don't get it. Why would he tell me that if it weren't true?"

"Why would who tell you that?" curiosity was going to get the better of him one of these days, he knew it.

"Rachel! Garfield!" the two teens looked up to see me running toward them. I hoped I wasn't too late. "Hey, guys, I just wanted to let you know that what I told you were just a couple of rumors. Sorry." I tried to seem as bashful as possible.

It didn't seem like it was going to work that easy with Rachel, "They were just rumors? Wait, does that mean you told the hero that I was trying to start a revolt against you? The same way you told me Logan was trying to over throne you? That's bullshit, Victor!" I heard Garfield gasp beside me. Well, that was new; I hadn't been called that, aside from Karen, in over two years. "I think you should learn to rule a little better if you can't find the differences between rumors and the real thing." The normal monotone pitch had left the Goth's voice. It was replaced by rage, hurt and pain. She knew that I knew that she liked him. She thought I was making fun of her. Fuck.

"Man, what's her problem? Dramatic much? It was a mistake, big deal." Oh, if the blond boy only knew how big of deal this was.

Fuck, this had completely blown up in my face.


	3. Chapter 3

I watched her leave us. She was seriously upset and I had no way to stop it. Damn, here I was, thinking I was the shit for finally going to get these two together and I was so wrong. My idea had gone so sour it burned. I hung my head and rested my forehead in my palms. Fuck. There was no way to make this better. No way to undo the damages he'd done. No way to make this better. Or was there?

I looked up at Gar, "Dude, you know what I don't understand? Is why she hates you so much. Or how you guys even know each other." it was a whole lot of cock and bullshit, but he had to do what he had to do to right his mistakes.

The blond boy looked away from him, "I'm not quite sure why she hates me, but I do remember how we met." he bowed his head slightly. I watched his eyes move frantically around the area, "it was the Valentine's Day dance…"

Garfield's eyes unfocused, he was in a far place, thinking of the first time he met the Goth.

_She had been beautiful. She was always beautiful, but tonight there was something different. Kids all around wondered why she had come; she usually never came to dances. She was notorious for her rebellious attitude and actions. A hero's worse nightmare. But tonight she was looking less devilish and more angelic._

_ Her usual black clothes had been replaced with a dark blue, short, strapless dress and blue boots. But the color wasn't the only thing that was odd for her. What made her dress so… well to be frank, so awesome, was the red intricate swirling designs that set it off. It captivated his attention in a mesmerizing dance. The bright contrasting colors were prominent against her gray, pale skin. _

_Her short purple hair feathered out and was pulled back on the sides by gold clips. The full set of lips that graced her face were painted a blood red, it contrasted against her pale skin in a way that was indescribable to him. Her ever present dark and heavy eyeliner made her deep violet eyes stand out. They entranced him. Like a siren luring her to prey to the predator. Around her throat was a black raven, at full wingspan, on a black chain. She wore earring that matched._

_ He didn't understand why she was obsessed with those things. They were a sign of a bad luck. Impending doom. So did that make her a bad omen to him? He slammed his eyes shut and he shook away the thought. He heard someone yell and quickly looked up. It was Rachel. A guy bumped into her, grazing his fingers over skin. Garfield saw red at that and it was he could do to not go over there and beat the kid senseless. But he had to keep his cool. So instead he settled for watching her more._

_ But she never even cast a glance toward him. She wasn't paying any attention to his presence. There was no interest in her facial features, not for the dance or for him. Her purple eyes were trained on the screen of the camera she held. Obviously, she was here only for the school's newspaper. Her pride and joy, her baby, the one thing she ever cared about. But that would change and he'd be the cause of it._

_ "So, you're Garfield Logan? The handsome hunk who said he would be my date?"_

_ Garfield looked up to see the pretty blue eyed, blonde girl he'd agreed to be her date for the dance because she was new to the school. He hadn't been able to remember her name. And he only wished he would have known that she would turn out to be such a bitch._

Tt Tt Tt

_ She could feel the hero's eyes on her bare back, but she refused to give in and return the stare. She refused to the urge to look into his deep spring green eyes and feel that insane pull toward him. _Focus, Roth, you have a task to do and that does not include fantasizing about a hero of all people.

_ Rachel turned her attention back to the matter at hand; taking pictures of sappy couples who thought that everyone wanted to see them happily in love, horny teenagers whose idea of dancing consisted of grinding against one another and loners who were too proud to make an attempt a night of fun. Yeah, just another day in paradise._

_ Fed up with the normality of everything, she stuffed her camera back into her bag and pushed her way through a throng of humping kids. The cafeteria was stuffy with all these bodies pushed into such a small space and the light in the hall was looking more and more comforting._

_ Her boots just hit the lit up hallway when a hand grasped her elbow, pulling her to a stop. She spun around angrily, hating the touch of another human. Her eyes burned into the olive ones of none other than that damn blond boy. "Release me, hero, or you'll lose that hand." Her voice was dripping with an acerbic tone._

_ She tried to wretch her arm free of his grip, but he held it fast, "I don't think so, Rachel, I got something I need to say to you and whether you like it or not, you're going to hear me out." He dug his fingers deeper into her arm, leaving four crescent moons in her soft flesh._

_ "I am not going anywhere with you, even if it saved my life. It wouldn't be worth it. Now let me go." Again she jerked her arm, but this time she was able to get away from him. Turning away from him she ran outside where the cooled air met her._

_ "Rae, I'm not kidding, get over and let me talk to you." She nearly stopped at the oddity of a nickname for her on his tongue. The name made her blush. She looked over her shoulder to see where he was; behind her, and coming closer. Rachel dashed to a corner where two brick walls met and knelt down._

_ She wondered why she felt this was some bad horror movie where the girl goes outside and the killer is stalking her, always right behind her. _Get a hold of yourself, Roth. This is not a TV show. This is real life. There is no danger; this is Garfield Logan the Hero we're talking about. Calm down and see what he wants.

_ Nodding to herself, she stood up to face the blond boy who visited her dreams every night, "Fine, I'm listening." The monotone was back in her voice._

_ He took a step closer, but kept a good amount of distance away. He stretched out his hand and grazed his fingertips across her cheek. Rachel closed her eyes and resisted the urge to turn her face and nuzzle his palm. Instead, she took a step away from him, putting even more distance between them, "What do you have to say?"_

_ Still, he didn't say anything just kept his eyes trained on her, he took one step closer and Rachel stepped back, it was like a slow rhythmic dance "Three things, Rae." A step closer and the dance continued. "One: you're fascinating to watch." One step closer, one step back. "Two: you look beautiful in blue." He took another step and when Rachel tried to take her step the skin of her back was chilled by the brick wall. He loomed over her and placing his hands on either side of her face leaned down, "Three: I've been wanting to do this for awhile now." His breath fanned her face; it was sweet and smelled of punch and … sugar cookies._

_ Before she could stop him or herself, he pressed his full lips against her own and Rachel thought her heart might jump right out of her chest. The kiss started out sweet and slow, but as they stood there it only grew intense and hungry. She bit at his lip, causing him to moan. He stroked her tongue with his, sucking it gently and her pulse picked up._

_ Wrapping her arms his neck; she plunged her fingers in his longish hair and twirled it, pulling it slightly. He moved his hands from the wall to her waist where he pushed her against his body. A thousand things were going through her mind. She had literally dreamt of this every night, but had never thought in a million and one years that this would actually happen. Not to her._

_ "Garfield!" the yell tore through the night, shattering all things perfect and fragile._

_ Rachel abruptly pulled away Garfield and withdrew into herself, embarrassed for her lack of control. She looked to see where the yell had come from and saw the new-to-school-wide-eyed-Bambi coming toward them._

_ The new girl draped one arm around Garfield's waist and realization dawned on her. She was his girlfriend. It had all been a prank. He and his crew had thought that playing a joke on her would be fun. Toying with Roth the Goth's feelings would bring amusement to them. Well, she wouldn't give them the satisfaction of seeing her break. No, she would break down when she was alone. But not right here in front of them._

_ She turned on her heel and walked quickly in the direction of her motorcycle. _Slow your steps, Roth. If you go to fast, they'll know you're angry and hurt. Just slow it down, don't let them know how bad they got you. Come on, you'll make it.

_ "Rae, wait!" she heard Garfield yell after her but she didn't dare turn around._

"_Don't call me that!" She swung her leg over her bike, started it and left._

_ Too late, Garfield had realized what it was that made Rachel run. She thought he and Terra were together._

Tt Tt Tt

Garfield looked at me, his eyes no longer glazed, but they did shine with realization. He replayed his memory back to me and it dawned on me as well. Rachel hated him because she thought he was being cruel and playing her.

"Damn, dude, now wonder she hates you and you're crew. Have you tried talking to her about it?"

He shook his head, "Every time I get close to her, she runs the other way." His head hit the palms of his hands with a _pat, _"And let me tell you. She can run pretty fast when she wants to. She hates me." Lifting his head, he grinned like an idiot, "But, I did notice that she has been wearing that blue color that I said looked good on her. Maybe there's hope for me after all?"

He spoke so rapidly that I barely understood him. My eyes were wide with disbelief. Was this kid serious? Did he really think that her wearing a _color_ would make up for what she thought he did? "Garfield, you have a lot work ahead of you, my friend." I patted him on the back, trying to give him reassurance. "But first let me talk to her and smooth some things over. She needs to know I didn't fuck her over." Without waiting for a reply I stood up and left him. Time to find Ms. Rachel Roth.

Tt Tt Tt

Now, where would I go if I was an angry Gothic girl who, thinking I got my heart ripped out and stepped on by the only guy I'd shown interest in, made a dramatic exit to get away from him and my ruler who I trusted, but thought betrayed me?

I closed my eyes and thought of the perfect place to stay hidden away from prying eyes that was dark and creepy enough for the infamous Goth. But none came to mind and I popped my eyes open, frustrated. Why was I even bothering? I couldn't think like Rachel or Garfield to save my life.

Goddamn, what kind of ruler couldn't connect with his own people? That's it! Connection! There was one place that I went to when I was feeling down that I knew I'd be alone at. I started heading for the bleachers where there was a shed that students weren't allowed to go, but I had a feeling she'd be there. It was both dark and creepy.

I pulled the heavy door up and saw her sitting on the dirty floor in a corner. Her legs were drawn up to her chest, arms wrapped around them and her chin resting on her knees. Tears and mascara streamed down her face, giving the impression of black tears. Soft sobs came from her little body and I had a hard time not running to her side and hugging her against me the way an older brother did his baby sister.

"Rachel…?" I whispered as not to scare her.

She whipped her eyes toward me and stood jerkily. "What are you doing here?" she wiped at her face hastily and tried for usual emotionless voice, but the stains on her face shattered the illusion. "What do you want? You've done enough damage."

I stepped toward her, needing to fix my mistakes, "Listen to me. What happened out there, that wasn't supposed to happen." I smiled softly, "I was misinformed. I wasn't trying to burn you or anything like that. You have to believe me, Rachel. Please." I knew my face was twisted up in pain. I really felt bad about what happened. I didn't realize it, but I was starting to grow closer the little Goth. I needed her to know how sorry I was.

For a second, Rachel's face was contorted in anger and outrage at his apology. Then slowly, oh so very slowly, she relaxed enough to show me she believed me, "Alright, I'm sorry Caesar. I overreacted. I should have known you wouldn't have fucked me over on purpose. But thank you for apologizing."

My face relaxed instantly. I felt such elation as her words left her mouth that I almost snatched her up, but I knew that the human contact would make her uncomfortable and I didn't want to make her more awkward around me than she already was.

Instead, I opted for a half-hearted smile and a raise of the hand in a goodbye wave. I turned and walked out of the shed feeling better about the whole situation. I got past the football field when I began to wonder. What was going to happen with Rachel and Garfield now? I had to come up with a new plan and soon if I wanted these two to get together. And I most certainly did.

Tt Tt Tt

The Masked Ones watched the six individuals with intent in their eyes. Soon, they would have them and their plans would not be foiled by the team of crime fighters. Though, they had absolutely no idea yet, but they would become the sole reason the Masked Ones' wouldn't be able to take over the Earth. They would become the Titans.

Their leader had created profiles on each of the children who they would need to destroy. Richard "Dick" Grayson aka Robin was, unbeknownst, the leader. His girlfriend, Kori Anders aka Starfire was their muscle. The dark skinned king, Victor Stone aka Cyborg was their technological man. The blond boy, Garfield Logan aka Beast Boy was their shape shifter who would hold them together. The Gothic Princess, Rachel Roth aka Raven was their demoness witch. And finally, the woman they had the least on was another dark skinned being. She was the portal. The one who would lead the "Titans" into the future. Into their destinies.

But the Masked Ones had a job to do and that was not let them leave this plane. They had to stay here. They could not protect mankind. The Masked Ones wouldn't -couldn't- allow it.


End file.
